Activist Warns Incinerator Will Add To 'Dioxin Burden'

January 27, 1986|by JENNIFER RITENOUR, The Morning Call

Stating that he had a natural "B.S. sensor" which enabled him to perceive when "industry is putting one over" on the citizen, Al Siess, a director of the Saucon Association for a Viable Environment, last night listed what he says are dangers of the proposed resource-recovery trash incinerator for a small gathering of Lehigh Pocono Committee of Concern members.

"I cannot support any technology which will add to the dioxin burden when there are other methods that do not," Siess said of the project proposed by the Lehigh Valley Solid Waste Authority for a site near the Bethlehem landfill in Lower Saucon Township.

He said two panelists at a recent workshop sponsored by the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia on incinerator emissions problems opened his eyes to numerous problems.

"My feeling before was that we had to insist that the thing was done right, and that at minimum, they have a provision for shutting it down if it should be a problem. Now I feel we have to insist that it not be done," he said.

Siess said that although the plans drawn up by American Ref-Fuel, the private company negotiating to build, own and operate the incinerator comply with the state's proposed pollutant guidelines include scrubbers to control chlorides and sulfides, pollutants still will be a problem. The plant is scheduled to go on line in spring 1989.

According to Siess, the testimony of ecologist Dr. Barry Commoner provided documented proof to confirm that:

- Both refuse and refuse-derived fuel produce dioxins when burned.

- Wide-ranging studies show that we already have unacceptable levels of dioxins in human body fats.

- When the breakdown products of lignin and plastics combine with the fly ash during incineration, dioxins and furans are synthesized, producing more toxic emissions than originally were present.

According to Siess, these points make supporters arguments "moot." "Proponents will try to minimize any concern at all," he said after reading parts of a pamphlet by what he called "scientific prostitutes" which claimed that dioxins do not contribute to birth defects and have very limited effects on humans.

He said a study by Dr. Ellen Silbergeld of the Environmental Defense Fund found that dioxins may affect many critical areas of human reproduction and life support. Siess also said there were several incidents in Wales and Scotland where incinerators owned by Re-Chem International affected the dairy cows of farmers living 18 miles away from the plant, and consequently caused six women to give birth to blind children after drinking the milk during pregnancy.

Siess expressed concern for the sudden decision to give up on landfilling and move toward incineration. "Up until two years ago, Air Products (one of the owners of American Ref-Fuel) was a strong advocate of landfilling. All of a sudden they found out that there's money to be made in fast-burning incinerators and there is a sudden waste crisis."

He also expressed concern at the growth in size and cost for the facility. He said the original plans called for a plant that would burn 750 tons of garbage daily. It is now scheduled to burn 1,000 tons daily. "What they're really planning to build is two 500-ton-a-day incinerators," he said. "That way they were able to get rid of all their competitors." In addition, he said the estimated cost has jumped from $53 million to $115 million.

"They don't know how much refuse any of the municipalities involved will generate," Siess said.

He advocates recycling as the best means for garbage disposal. "Probably the only long-term, effective way of reducing garbage volume requires front- end recycling," Siess said. "Ultimately, if there is a product that cannot be disposed of properly by recycling, we're going to have to insist that the companies don't make it."

The Lehigh Valley Solid Waste Authority, made up of representatives of Allentown, Bethlehem and Easton, is the organizational force behind the proposed incinerator. The authority has cooperated closely with the Joint Planning Commission of Lehigh-Northampton Counties.